For removing defective transponder units or electronic transponder equipment a web (6)is parted in a station (23) firstly in front and then at the rear of the individual unit. Thereafter the picked out unit is conveyed off transverse to a working plane (3)and the two resulting web ends are transferred into a directly juxtaposed station (24). There the web ends are fixedly interconnected by welding, glueing or the like. Therefrom a use web arises, which includes only non-defective units since the defective units were previously detected by a sensor (32)and then severed out as described with the aid of a control device (50). This fully automatically working apparatus (1)coils the processed use tape in a store (26)into a roll (40)which is suitable for further processing in a machine.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An apparatus for processing a web into a continuous use web, wherein the web has web sections in a web plane, wherein the web sections include first sections and a second section which adjoins the first sections, wherein the second section defines an edge length parallel to a web length extension of the web and a panel position within the web, whereby the second section is removable from the panel position, thereby forming a continuous use web from the web, said apparatus comprising: an apparatus base which is mobile; a removal station on said apparatus base; removing means in the vicinity of said removal station for removing the second section from the panel position and for altering the panel position to provide a substitute first section which interjoins the web and the continuous use web connecting to the web upstream of the substitute first section; wherein said removal station has station ends which include a station inlet where the web enters and a station outlet where the continuous use web exits; and wherein at least one of said station ends includes a web conveyor which holds the first sections substantially parallel to the web plane and positively conveys the web, wherein said apparatus base commonly bears said removing means and said web conveyor.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said removing means entirely removes the second section from the web plane to provide a web gap between the web and the continuous use web, said removing means subsequently mutually approaching the web and the continuous use web in a motion substantially parallel to the web plane to directly interjoin the first sections, whereby one of the first sections becomes the substitute first section.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a jointing station for fixedly interjoining the first sections by thermocompressive welding before the first sections arrive at said removal station, wherein the second section is located between the first sections, and said jointing station includes a thermocompressing welding unit on said apparatus base.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said web conveyor is located at said station inlet, upstream of said removing means.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising aligning means for laterally aligning the web, wherein said aligning means is located upstream of said web conveyor removing means.
6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said web conveyor includes first and second conveyors at said station inlet located upstream of said removing means, and aligning means interposed between said first and second conveyors, wherein said aligning means laterally and variably aligns the web.
7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said web conveyor is located at said station outlet located downstream of said removing means, said removing means defining a removing point where the second section is removed from the panel position, and wherein said removal station is free of any buffer store for variably storing the web between said removing point and said web conveyor.
8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising aligning means for laterally and variably aligning the continuous use web downstream of said removing means, wherein said web conveyor is located upstream of said aligning means.
9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conveyor includes first and second conveyors at said station outlet located downstream of said removing means, and wherein said aligning means is interposed between said first and second conveyors, and said aligning means laterally and variably aligns the continuous use web.
10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising guide means for guiding the web and the continuous use web through said removal station, wherein said guide means guides the first sections exclusively plane-parallel from said station inlet up to said station outlet, and wherein said guide means includes said web conveyor.
11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a removal plane where the second section is severed from the first sections and a jointing plane where the second sections are interjoined, wherein said removal plane is laterally displaced with respect to said jointing plane.
12. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising holding means for longitudinally holding the first sections close to said removing means while removing the second section, wherein said web conveyor includes said holding means, and wherein said web conveyor commonly conveys the web and the continuous use web parallel to the web plane.
13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said holding means and said web conveyor commonly include a rotary drive element which directly supports the web sections, wherein said rotary drive element is motor driven, and fixes the web while removing the second section.
14. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a web store for accumulating the web sections in superimposed layers directly contacting each other, wherein said apparatus base directly supports said web store.
15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said web store is located at said station inlet and includes motion control means having break means for variably retarding the web while the web is longitudinally tensioned directly downstream of said break means, wherein said station inlet is located upstream of said removing means.
16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said web store is located at said station outlet and includes motion control means having a motor drive means for collecting the continuous use web into said web store.
17. The apparatus according to claim 1, and further including a web store for accumulating the web sections in superimposed layers directly contacting each other, wherein a detector is included between said removing means and said web sore for distinguishing the first sections from the second section, said detector including at least one sensor located at least one of upstream of said removing means, and downstream of said removing means.
18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the web is a transponder strip and each of the first and second sections is a transponder unit and includes electronic equipment, said sensor being a transmitter head for exchanging electronic data with the web sections, said removing means removing the electronic equipment from the panel position and reequipping the panel position with other electronic equipment.
19. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a buffer store for variably storing the web sections while the web simultaneously enters and exits said buffer store, wherein said buffer store is located upstream of said removal means.
20. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a buffer store for variably storing the first sections downstream of said removal means while the first sections enter and leave said buffer store, wherein aligning means is included for laterally and variably aligning the continuous use web, and wherein said aligning means is located upstream of said buffer store.
21. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control means, wherein said control means include a test member which measures a tension of the web sections.
22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said test member is located downstream of said removing means.
23. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising aligning means for laterally and variably aligning the web sections, and a deflector which deflects the web section; and wherein said web conveyor is located between said removing means and said deflector, the web sections extending substantially planarly from said deflector through said removing means.
24. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a removal unit which includes said removing means, wherein said removal unit is a preassembled unit separable from said apparatus base.
25. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a base cheek of said apparatus base, wherein said base cheek is stationary and includes a large cheek face angularly connecting to edge faces, said removing means freely projecting over and transverse to said large cheek face.
26. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a subbase which includes a first subcheek and a second subcheek spacedly opposing said first subcheek, wherein only said first subcheek is directly fixed to said apparatus base; and wherein said removing means includes removing tools which are located between said first and second subcheek.
27. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a center plane which is perpendicular to the web sections and to the web length extension within said removing means, wherein said center plane traverses the web downstream of said web conveyor and is substantially a plane of symmetry for at least one of said apparatus base, web stores storing the web and the continuous use web, buffer stores for variably storing the web and the continuous use web, aligning means for laterally variably aligning the web and the continuous use web, drive means of said web conveyor, and holding means for holding and mutually coplanarly approaching the web and the continuous use web while closing the panel position after removing the second section.
28. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising fluid control means for controlling a fluid directly contacting and positioning the web sections with respect to said apparatus base.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
October 22, 1999
May 29, 2001
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